Art Description

Art can be shaped by individual identity that is fashioned by our past and the relationship we have with our own culture. For migrants, who have lost a direct connection to their culture and to the ties of their past, identity shifts between a duality. Where, in embracing the many aspects of their new culture, a feeling of isolation can ensue. This can be enhanced in migrants who have come from societies with a previous history of dramatic cultural upheaval, such as the fractures found the ancient Persian culture in its contemporary context.

In an attempt to preserve their identity, migrants often look to the past and to entrenched traditions. In my situation, as an artist trying to build a new life in Australia, I found inspiration and solace in the words of Persian Mystical poet Jalálu’l-Dín Rúmí (1207-73). In comparing and contrasting two very different cultural conventions I found a connection with the Western art form of depicting the nude human body with the very traditional, spiritually artistic expression of Persian calligraphy and poetry. In this way, I am able to follow a path that embraces aspects of a new culture and combine it with what I cherish of my old one.

Being ruptured between two cultures, two countries is a common situation among migrants of all cultures. The past will help us shape the present, maintain our connections to our culture, but can also be a tie to the old that makes it difficult to fully integrate. Whether the ideal of one’s utopia is reached through spiritual or personal reflection, it must be realised that it is entirely up to us all to shape this better world.